Women's News - Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club

PWR Press Conference: Barney Maddison and Niamh Gallagher

Ahead of Round Eleven in the PWR, Head Coach Barney Maddison and fullback Niamh Gallagher answered questions from the press.

Trailfinders Women face Sale Sharks Women this weekend in Round Eleven of the PWR. Maddison and Gallagher spoke to the press ahead of the Valentine’s Day fixture.

When asked about how he thought the season was unfolding so far for Trailfinders, Maddison said:

‘What the results show is exactly how competitive this league is and I think on anyone’s day, everyone can beat each other. We’ve had a couple of really close results and a couple of them could have swung the other way. The results just shows how competitive this league is and that’s probably why it’s the best women’s rugby league in the world in my opinion.’

Niamh Gallagher added:

‘You can see how the league has become tighter over the last few years, especially this season. It’s way more competitive now than it ever has been.’

When asked about the upcoming game against seventh place Sale Sharks this weekend, Maddison said:

‘Obviously we’ve had a couple of really close games. Every game is going to count massively now and picking up any kind of point whether it’s home or away is huge.

‘It’s another massive game against Sale. They’ve had some really close results as well over the past couple of weeks. Again, they obviously played in really tough conditions last Saturday as well against Gloucester-Hartpury. It’s going to be a massive game.’

Last weekend, Niamh Gallagher slotted the conversion that levelled the result against Bristol and gave Trailfinders a draw after clawing back a first half deficit. The fullback offered her thoughts on her performance against the Bears:

‘We had a lot to do to come back in the second half against Bristol. I was proud of the kick in performance in that game against Bristol to make sure we got the three points in the end. We came out fighting and just going into Sale, we need to bring that fighting from when the whistle goes at the beginning of the game.’

Ahead of this weekend’s game against Sale, Gallagher added:

‘I think just sticking to the game plan, playing heads up rugby, seeing what’s in front will be important in this game. You don’t know what they’re going to bring. But it’s just about playing in the right areas of the pitch.’

Women's News

Pitch-side dining: Win a Valentine’s Day experience!

Win the Ultimate Valentine’s Day Experience – Pitch-Side Dining with Rugby’s Best!

This Valentine’s Day, we’re offering one lucky couple an exclusive matchday experience they’ll never forget. One couple will enjoy an intimate pitch-side dinner for two at the Trailfinders Women vs Sale Sharks Women rugby match on 14th February.

The competition offers a front-row view of the field and an atmosphere you can only experience on match-day. Enjoy your meal as the excitement builds for kick-off, and celebrate love and rugby in style.

The competition can be entered through our Instagram: Trailfinders Women (@trailfinderswomen) • Instagram photos and videos

Tag your Valentine in the comments
Entries close on 12th February at 3pm, so don’t miss your chance to create unforgettable memories this Valentine’s Day.

Match Round-up: Bristol Bears v Trailfinders Women

Trailfinders Women draw with Bristol Bears after a second half comeback.

Claire Gallagher kicked off the Round Ten match with a clean gather from Bristol. The home side kicked away the ball for Trailfinders to regather and find attacking flow. However, the ball came loose from the hands of Trailfinders leading to the first opening scrum.

The Bears held the scrum and the ball was passed out wide to the Bristol backline. The women in blue etched towards Trailfinders’ 22 but the visitors remained strong in defence.

Bristol were awarded a penalty by referee Tarsh Ganley as Trailfinders failed to roll away. With a five metre line out, Bristol mauled towards their tryline with little success and opted for the phase play. But with consistent carries, Sarah Bern eventually reached the line for the opening score for the home side. Keira Bevan was successful with the conversion.

Trailfinders looked to bounce back quickly after Bristol’s opening score. The women in yellow found some attacking space. Vicky Laflin broke down the wing but with few numbers in support, Bristol were successful in securing a turnover ball when Laflin was tackled to the ground.

Bears continued to play with fast and flat attacking ball, but a forward pass gave Trailfinders an attacking scrum. Trailfinders held the scrum and went through the phases in their own half until Brooke Bradley put boot to ball.

With ball in hand for Bristol, Trailfinders slowed down Bears’ attacking flow until Bevan put boot to ball and secured a 50:22. Yet, the Black Fern Maia Roos stole the lineout ball to secure Trailfinders another scrum.

Bristol disrupted a Trailfinders line out, giving Bern the platform for a line break and secured her side territory. A kick out to the wing found the touch line for a Trailfinders line out. But once again, Bears disrupted the line out in Trailfinders’ 22. The women in yellow continued to apply the pressure in defence and Bristol spilt the ball forward. Yet, the Bears were resilient in attack and Scottish international Evie Gallagher scored the home side’s second try from short range. Bevan added the extras.

Bevan scored a try of her own after taking a quick tap and go in Trailfinders’ 22. Bevan converted her own score.

Determined to strike back, Trailfinders went through phases of play until they found themselves in Bristol’s 22. Niamh Gallagher decided to put boot to ball, putting the ball in open space where Vicky Laflin gathered and scored the first try for Trailfinders. N.Gallagher converted.

With attacking momentum on their side, Trailfinders continued to press against the Bears’ defence. Haidee Head made a break through the centre of the field until she was brought down by the Bristol defence. The home side secured a turnover by the hands of Evie Gallagher but Trailfinders secured their own turnover seconds later.

In the Bristol 22, Trailfinders continued with phase play. Playing with advantage, Trailfinders played a tap and go but Bristol were awarded a scrum after the ball went forward from Claire Gallagher.

With five minutes left of the first half, both teams fought hard in Bristol’s half until Bevan kicked the ball into touch and Ganley blew the whistle for half-time.

Half-time: Bristol Bears 21-7 Trailfinders Women

With the rain lashing down at Shaftesbury Park, Bristol found attacking phases in their half until the ball spilt forward from Lana Skeldon for a Trailfinders scrum.

Bristol were awarded a line out after Kate Zackary knocked the ball on, but the Bristol ball was overthrown and gathered by Georgia Ponsonby, giving Trailfinders another attacking platform. Playing with a penalty advantage, Bradley tapped and went, sending the ball out to Ponsonby.

Bristol continued to give away penalties for offside infringement. Trailfinders decided to go wide to Grace White who scored in the right hand corner. N. Gallagher slotted the extras from a difficult angle to narrow the deficit on the scoreboard.

With the pressure on Bristol with their penalties racking up and Scottish international Rachel Malcolm making the picture clear to the referee, Trailfinders found themselves with an attacking line out. The short throw into the driving maul gave the women in yellow a few yards but the maul hit the deck and Bristol were awarded the scrum.

Bristol found a break down the left wing but with Trailfinders in defence, they eventually secured the penalty from the counter ruck into the turnover.

Trailfinders had a scrum but were defending five metres out from the try area. Yet, the ball was whipped into touch, giving Bristol an attacking line out in Trailfinders’ 22.

Bristol once again went through the short range phases, etching towards the try line. The visitors held strong in defence, pushing Bristol back inch by inch. But the home side went back to the backline and Reneeqa Bonner broke through the line to score the bonus-point try for the Bears. Bevan missed the conversion.

Trailfinders were not to be put away. Putting the pressure on Bristol, they formed a maul and drove forward. Ball in hand, Rachel Malcolm dove over the line for Trailfinders’ third try.

With the hour mark passed and only one score differentiating the two sides, Trailfinders had another scrum on the halfway line. Bristol conceded another penalty for not properly releasing Vicky Laflin after she was taken to ground in the tackle.

Cris Blanco’s throw found the hands of Zackary for Trailfinders to go into another driving maul. However, the ball was lost forward in the attack.

Handling errors from Bristol gave Trailfinders the ball in Bristol’s half. Broken play ensued and eventually, Claire Gallagher put boot to ball for another 50:22.

With ten minutes to go, Trailfinders put the pressure on in their own half. Bern knocked the ball on just outside of Bristol’s 22, giving Trailfinders another scrum but a collapse on the tighthead side gave Bristol the ball.

The home side spilt the ball from the line out leading to yet another Trailfinders scrum. Playing with advantage, Trailfinders carried the ball into contact, securing metres. The back line broke free with Jess Cooksey finding a gap in Bristol’s defence and Cooksey passed the ball out wide to Emma Uren for Trailfinders’ bonus-point score. Niamh Gallagher converted the try to level the scoreboard with ninety seconds to go.

Bristol attempted to run the ball through the phases but Trailfinders dragged the home side into touch with the scoreboard all square at full-time.

Full-time: Bristol Bears 26-26 Trailfinders Women

Player of the Match: Sarah Bern

Bristol Bears –

Tries: Sarah Bern 6, Evie Gallagher 21, Keira Bevan 24, Reneeqa Bonner 58

Conversions: Keira Bevan 7 22 24

Trailfinders Women –

Tries: Vicky Laflin 28, Grace White 45, Rachel Malcolm 60, Emma Uren 79

Conversions: Niamh Gallagher 29 46 79

Team Lineup, Women's News

Team News: Trailfinders Women lineup for the trip to Bristol Bears

Head Coach Barney Maddison has named his Trailfinders Women side for the trip to Bristol Bears.

Trailfinders Women will take on Bristol Bears at Shaftesbury Park on Saturday 7th February (12:00pm KO) in round Ten of The PWR.

It’s an unchanged front three from last Friday’s narrow loss at home to Harlequins, with Alivia Leatherman and Maya Montiel either side of Black Fern Georgia Ponsonby. The engine room remains all-Kiwi, with Maia Roos partnering Alana Borland once again. Bright spark Haidee Head starts at Open-side Flanker, she’s joined by Scotland’s Rachel Malcolm at six with USA’s Kate Zackary skippering the side from Number Eight.

Brooke Bradley and Claire Gallagher return as the half-back pairing who will be looking to inject some pace and dynamism in to the game. It’s an unchanged Centre partnership as Wales’ Carys Cox returns at inside centre with speedster Emma Uren just outside her at 13.

Vicky Lafflin and Grace White will once again be providing electric pace out wide on the wings. They’ll be joined in the back-field by Niamh Gallagher who comes in at fullback for the travelling side.

Maddison opts for a 5-3 split amongst the replacements, with plenty of pace and firepower at his disposal.

The match will be streamed live on The PWR YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePWROfficial

Starting XV:

15. Niamh Gallagher

14. Grace White

13. Emma Uren

12. Carys Cox

11. Vicky Lafflin

10. Claire Gallagher

9. Brooke Bradley

1. Alivia Letaherman

2. Georgia Ponsonby

3. Maya Montiel

4. Maia Roos

5. Alana Borland

6. Rachel Malcolm

7. Haidee Head

8. Kate Zackary (C)

Replacements:

16. Cristina Blanco

17. Annabel Meta

18. Cassandra Tuffnail

19. Emma Taylor

20. Grace Moore

21. Ella Amory

22. Jess Cooksey

23. Ellie Boatman

Women's News

Match Round-up: Trailfinders Women vs Harlequins Women

Trailfinders Women secure a losing bonus-point in the West London Derby.

Under the Friday night lights at Trailfinders Sports Ground, the stage was set for a fierce match, with the lead changing hands constantly throughout the game. Harlequins emerged victorious, with a late converted try earning them the lead, but Trailfinders Women earned two well-deserved losing bonus points from the contest.

Early Trailfinders Women infringements gifted Harlequins Women field position with a kick to the corner, and a few phases after a maul drive, the visitors’ blindside flanker Aoife Wafer crashed over for the opening try of the game in the fourth minute. Ella Cromack was unable to add the extras.

Resolute defence from Trailfinders marched Harlequins back, forcing them to go to the skies, but the ball was touched in flight by a Trailfinders hand, providing them a lineout in the home 22. More strong defence in the ensuing phases earned Trailfinders a turnover, allowing them to clear their lines.

Poor discipline from Harlequins allowed Trailfinders to camp out in the visitors 22, and after repeated carries into heavy traffic near the line, Georgia Ponsonby crashed over for her side’s first try of the game. With a decent angle just left of the posts, fullback Rosie Inman slotted the conversion to hand Trailfinders the lead at 25 minutes played.

Trailfinders Women rumbled into the opposition 22 with a thunderous maul drive, before it was collapsed cynically by Harlequins. With a penalty advantage on their side, Trailfinders repeatedly attacked the try line, before number eight Abi Burton burrowed over from close range. From an identical spot to her previous kick, Inman was unable to add the extras, and Harlequins second row Abbie Fleming was sent to the sin bin for her part in pulling down the maul.

With just minutes to go until the end of the half, Harlequins fly-half Ella Cromack sniped through a gap to narrow the scores, but couldn’t convert her own score, with the first half finishing 12-10 in favour of the home side.

Half-time: Trailfinders Women 12-10 Harlequins Women

Scoring whilst a player down seemed to invigorate Harlequins as Aoife Wafer crossed for her second try of the game four minutes into the second half, but Cromack was again unable to slot the kick.

More poor discipline from the visitors led to Harlequins’ Jade Konkel receiving a yellow card, and Trailfinders chose to scrum down just five metres out from the opposition try line. A dominant scrum and slick hands led to Rosie Inman crossing for a score, and she duly converted her own try to give Trailfinders the lead.

On the hour mark both sides began to turn to the bench, adding energy to what had been an incredibly physical game already. Maia Roos powered through the Harlequins defence for a well deserved try, with the added impact of the Trailfinders bench proving decisive. Inman added the conversion to keep the scoreboard ticking over and extend Ealing’s lead to 11 points.

Aoife Wafer crashed over for her third try for Harlequins, sealing her hat-trick, but Cromack could not add the extras, with the score reading 26-20 in favour of Trailfinders Women with just eight minutes to go. Trailfinders replacement flanker Haidee Head was also yellow carded for an infringement near her line.

Carys Cox joined her team mate in the sin bin just minutes later, leaving Trailfinders to defend their lead with just thirteen players on the pitch. Despite some ferocious defence, including Isla Norman-Bell dislodging the ball from Ellie Kildunne over the try line, eventually Harlequins’ flanker Alex Callender broke through for a try. Claudia Pena assumed the kicking duties and slotted the conversion, providing Harlequins a 27-26 lead with just minutes remaining.

With possession off the restart Harlequins wound the clock down, before running the ball into touch to secure the win in a closely fought London Derby under the lights at Trailfinders Sports Ground.

Aoife Wafer was awarded player of the match following her hat-trick.

Full-time Trailfinders Women 26-27 Harlequins Women

Trailfinders Women: 26

Tries – Georgia Ponsonby 25, Abbie Burton 31, Rosie Inman 54, Maia Roos 66

Conversions – Rosie Inman 25 55 67

Yellow cards – Haidee Head 72, Carys Cox 75

Harlequins Women: 27

Tries – Aoife Wafer 4 44 72, Ella Cromack 38, Alex Callender 78

Conversions – Pena 79

Yellow cards – Abbie Fleming 31, Jade Konkel 53

Match Preview, Women's News

Match programme: Trailfinders Women vs Harlequins Women

Trailfinders Women return for the Friday Night Lights!

The West London derby is here. Trailfinders Women host Harlequins Women in Round Nine of the PWR.

Read everything you need to know ahead of the game in our match programme.

Women's News

PWR Press Conference: Barney Maddison and Kate Zackary

Ahead of Round Nine in the PWR, Head Coach Barney Maddison and Trailfinders Women Club Captain Kate Zackary answered questions from the media.

Trailfinders Women welcome Harlequins Women in the return of the PWR. The Friday Night Lights will set the stage for the West London derby. Maddison and Zackary responded to questions from the press ahead of the Round Nine fixture.

After being asked about an injury update in the squad, Barney Maddison said:

“Lisa Thompson is coming back from a tear in her achilles. Julia Schell did her ACL so she’s out for the season. Francesca McGhie has had an operation on her shoulder but she’ll be back for the Six Nations I think.

“Meg Jones took a whack on her shoulder but she’s tracking really well so hopefully we’ll get her back in the next few weeks. The Black Fern Tanya Kalounivale hurt her ankle in her first game against Leicester Tigers but hopefully we’ll get her back within the next month or so.

“Emma Wassell is nearly there. She came back from the World Cup with a niggle. She’s in a really good place so hopefully we’ll see some rugby from her in the next week or two.”

When asked about how the team has tackled the month-long break and the recent international camps, Kate Zackary said:

“We’ve been in a couple weeks now, so we’ve had a couple good sessions. And within that you had the English, the Welsh, the Irish, the Scottish, all taking time to go away for some of their camps. So it’s been an interesting one. But this week is the first week that everyone’s back in fully.

“We obviously got to celebrate Burns Night. We’ve inherited a lot of Scottish this season, as you know. So we had a little celebration earlier this week with them.

“But for the rugby piece as well, it’s just the basics, doing the things that we’re really good at. The rest will take care of itself.

“You can’t control an opposition, you can’t control the weather, you can’t control a referee. But we can just work on ourselves and come in at set piece time, get our basic skills right and our kicking game.”

The highly anticipated Friday Night Lights are just around the corner. When asked about the excitement around the West London derby, Maddison said:

“It’s the fact that it’s a Friday night game which is really cool. I think the Club has sold a fair amount of tickets for this game, so everyone’s looking forward to it.

“We’ve obviously not played a game in six weeks as well. So again, the fact that we’ve not played in so long and it’s kind of our first game back. It’s a bit of a reset and a restart as such for a new year.”

Zackary added:

“I think recently there’s been a lot of social media about the original London derby with Saracens and Quins in a few weeks. And I can’t help but feel like maybe we’re not quite respected yet as that London club. So for me, it’s also that bit of passion to make a statement. You know, there are three London clubs. I think we’ve been back and forth with Quins. Unfortunately, Saracens have gotten the best of us a few times. So I think it also comes back to a statement piece that we’re a competitive London side as well and we’re here to compete and beat the best.”

On his ambitions for the squad’s performance in training and beyond, Maddison said:

“It’s about consistency. We want girls to push each other as hard as we can in training because again, if we can have competitive training sessions, it’s going to bring that kind of competitive edge out in games.

“I feel like we’re in a good place. And yes, we probably came away from that last game frustrated.

“But we want to be more consistent with our performances. We have been up and down but if we can be consistent across the board that will hopefully then bring positive results.”

Team Lineup, Women's News

Lineup: Trailfinders Women vs Harlequins Women

Barney Maddison has named his squad to face Harlequins Women under the Friday Night Lights in the return of the PWR.

Maddison has made seven changes to his Trailfinders squad after the month-long break from the PWR. .

Kate Zackary skippers the side and is joined in the back row by Rachel Malcolm and Abi Burton.

Alivia Leatherman, Georgia Ponsonby, and Maya Montial pack out the front row.

In the engine room is the Black Fern duo Maia Roos and Alana Borland.

Brookie Bradley starts at scrum-half to link up with Claire Gallagher in the half-back pairing to face Harlequins.

Welsh international Carys Cox starts at inside centre with Emma Uren on the outside.

Vicky Laflin and Grace White start on the wings with Rosie Inman at fullback in an unchanged back three after Round Eight.

Maddison names a 5-3 bench split including Annabel Meta, Haidee Head, and Ellie Boatman.

Kick-off is at 19:30 on Friday 30 January at Trailfinders Sports Club.

Watch live on BBC iPlayer.

Starting XV:

15. Rosie Inman

14. Grace White

13. Emma Uren

12. Carys Cox

11. Vicky Laflin

10. Claire Gallagher

9. Brooke Bradley

1. Alivia Leatherman

2. Georgia Ponsonby

3. Maya Montiel

4. Maia Roos

5. Alana Borland

6. Rachel Malcolm

7. Kate Zackary (c)

8. Abi Burton

Replacements:

16. Cristina Blanco

17. Annabel Meta

18. Cassandra Tuffnail

19. Emma Taylor

20. Haidee Head

21. Isla Norman-Bell

22. Jess Cooksey

23. Ellie Boatman

Feature, Women's News

Carys Cox on the West London derby, her love of the outdoors and nursing

Welsh international Carys Cox previews the West London derby, discusses her love of the outdoors and why she trained to become a nurse.

The PWR returns this weekend after a month-long break. Trailfinders Women welcome West London rivals Harlequins Women for a Friday Night Lights fixture at Trailfinders Sports Club.

International centre Carys Cox offered her thoughts ahead of the Round Nine match.

“I think it’s going to be super competitive,” Cox said.

“This match is going to have quite a big influence on the rest of the season. So there’s quite a lot of pressure going into it, but I think we’ve had a few really good performances in the league this season. So hopefully that comes through on Friday.

“I think we’ve got quite a few experienced individuals in the team right now, so quite a lot of them know how to deal with pressure and deal with really big games.

“I think everyone’s really excited and it being a Friday night game also gives it a bit more of a buzz with a different atmosphere. I’m hoping for a big crowd for sure.”

In the history of the league, Harlequins have won three out of four of their fixtures against Trailfinders Women. This weekend, Trailfinders will be looking to narrow that head-to-head deficit and climb the PWR league table.

“My previous experience of playing Quins have always been big games. They’re always competitive and super tight. Harlequins play a really exciting brand of rugby: really fast, and they’ve got some very talented players as well.

“I like fast ball so hopefully it will be a fast game, and there’s gonna be some really tight matches out there as well.”

Cara Brincat, Carys Cox, Vicky Laflin

The last time out for Trailfinders Women was against Loughborough Lightning at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens over a month ago. Cox discussed how the break has helped her and her teammates recover and rebuild towards Round Nine of the PWR.

“If I’m honest, the break was probably really needed. It was a massive year last year in terms of the Six Nations into the World Cup, and then sort of back-to-back games pre-Christmas in the PWR. So I think everyone was actually pretty excited for the break, and I think it’s probably done a few bodies some favours, just to rest, and have that mental break as well.

“With the support from the Club, everyone’s kept their training up, and I think we’re gonna be in a really good place going into Friday.”

Trailfinders Women Head Coach Barney Maddison is keen for his players to have ample opportunities to bond on and off the pitch. Cox is one of the social secretaries for Trailfinders Women and has been pivotal in organising socials for the wider team.

“We’ve organised the socials a bit differently this year, so we’ve got five social teams with social secs in each team. Each team has or is planning a social for the rest of the year.

“We’ve had three socials already: an intro social, a bingo lingo social, and then we had our Christmas social. We’ve got another one coming up in a few weeks. But yeah, it’s a really good occasion to get all the girls together and have that bonding time off the field.

“I think getting to know someone off the field is only going to help your game on the field in terms of understanding how people play, how people react to situations and someone’s mindset.

“The socials are definitely important and we get quite a good buy in, so it’s great.”

The Welsh international is not only a starting player for both her club and country, she is also a qualified nurse.

“I actually tried to avoid nursing my whole life because we’ve got so many nurses in my family: my mum’s a nurse, my auntie’s a nurse, and my cousin was an Operating Department Practitioner (ODP). My other cousin’s a nurse too, so I tried to avoid it for as long as I could.

“I did a sport and exercise science degree, and then halfway through that first degree, I kind of was like, oh, I think I’ve got a real passion for healthcare.

“I applied for my nursing degree, and then I did another undergraduate degree straight away. I loved it, absolutely loved it.

“I did about eight months of work post that in a high care neuro ward alongside playing here at Trailfinders.

“Nursing is definitely something that I’m going to go back to post-rugby. It’s definitely still a passion of mine and something that I want to succeed in, but it was really quite challenging to try and succeed in both rugby and nursing at the same time.”

Cox had previously travelled between the hospital in Cardiff and Trailfinders Sports Club regularly. She emphasised how well she had memorised the roads between the two locations.

“I was nursing in Cardiff and then playing at Trailfinders. The M4 was my best friend.

“It was a really challenging time, but I wouldn’t change it because it hopefully sets me up for life post rugby.

“For a lot of the girls, we have to consider what life is post-rugby because it’s not something that’s obviously gonna set you up for a long time at the moment. So girls at the moment are trying to find careers that are around rugby, but also doing something we’re passionate about alongside our passion for rugby.”

It’s clear from Cox’s social media feeds that a life in the outdoors is one that appeals to her. With plenty of national landscapes in her home country and across the UK, Cox gave her verdict on her favourite outdoors locations.

“I love Brecon in Wales. You’ve got the waterfalls there as well. I normally do that route a few times a year when I’m back in Wales. And the beaches there are gorgeous as well, so I’ll normally visit them post training days when I’m back there. It is completely different to London.

“I would definitely say that I prefer to be in the outdoors, but I do enjoy London at the moment, and it’s definitely somewhere that has given me a lot of opportunities when living here. But being back to mountains and beaches, post-rugby is where I’d like to be.”

Women's News

Six Trailfinders Women selected for England training camp

Six Trailfinders Women have been selected for the first Red Roses camp of 2026.

World Cup Winners Abi Burton and Meg Jones have been selected alongside uncapped players Jasmine Adonri, Hayley Jones, Annabel Meta and Haidee Head for the Red Roses’ 47-player training camp.

Since joining Trailfinders for the 2025/26 season, Meg Jones has made six starts for the Red Roses, receiving her 33rd cap in the Rugby World Cup Final. Abi Burton has also made six starts for Trailfinders this season, securing four caps in 2025 after making her Red Roses debut against Wales in the women’s Six Nations last year.

Jasmine Adonri and Annabel Meta have previously featured in England U20s. Young hooker Hayley Jones has played for England at U18s age-grade level, whilst Haidee Head featured in England’s U21s Squad back in December.

As students at Trailfinders Women’s partner university, Adonri, Meta, and Jones have represented Brunel University in Women’s BUCS Super Rugby as well as in Trailfinders colours in the PWR Cup.

Meta also got herself on the scoreboard after coming off the bench in Trailfinders’ win over Leicester Tigers in Round Seven of the PWR.

It will be the first time a Red Roses squad has come together since winning the Women’s Rugby World Cup in September. The squad will assemble today at Pennyhill Park (Monday 12 January).

Trailfinders Women Head Coach Barney Maddison said:

‘It’s great to see so many Trailfinders being represented in the Red Roses camp this week.

‘For the younger girls it will be a great experience for them. It’s an opportunity for them to learn and grow and also see what it takes to compete at the highest level.’

Red Roses Head Coach John Mitchell said:

‘2025 was a memorable year for everyone involved with the Red Roses, and one that will go down in history for rugby in this country.

‘As we enter a new cycle, this camp will focus on aligning our communication and resetting our culture to win.’